White Sox outfielder Charlie Tilson will be shut down for at least the next three weeks after his most recent medical check, as J.J. Stankevitz of CSNChicago.com reports. While his MRI showed that he hasn’t suffered a fracture, the stress reaction is causing enough swelling to require a walking boot and further down time.
It’s obviously good news for the organization to find that Tilson doesn’t have a broken bone. On the other hand, it seems there’s little he can do to address his actual ailment other than rest and hope for a speedy recovery. That leaves an opening, at least for the earliest portion of the season.
The Sox aren’t necessarily in desperate straits without Tilson, who suffered a season-ending hamstring tear in his first MLB game last year after being acquired in the deadline deal that sent Zach Duke to the Cardinals. Though Tilson had been slated to handle primary duties in center in 2017, the rebuilding club isn’t placing much of a priority on near-term production. That said, every role on every team presents both a need and an opportunity, and his absence will impact the market.
There are a few options on hand, as Stankevitz notes. Peter Bourjos seems the obvious choice, as he was likely slated to earn a bench role regardless and has ample experience up the middle. The speedy veteran hasn’t proven that he can reach base consistently, of course, but that’s the same limitation that made him available on a minor-league deal.
The two other alternatives lack MLB experience and have somewhat similar profiles to Bourjos, but might at least provide some competition or factor into the fourth outfielder conversation. Adam Engel, a prolific base stealer who’ll play the upcoming season at 25 years of age, hit well in 357 plate appearances at Double-A (.255/.352/.412) but struggled in his 161 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors (.242/.298/.369). And Jacob May, a switch-hitter who’s also 25, spent all of 2016 at Triple-A, where he hit .266/.309/.352 and swiped 19 bags over 321 trips to the plate.
While it may not be of much interest, the White Sox could still consider looking at the free-agent market to supplement this group. Coco Crisp, Sam Fuld, and Angel Pagan all have plenty of MLB experience in center, to be sure. Alternatively, Chicago could look to be aggressive on the waiver wire (or in snapping up veterans with opt-outs) as teams make tough 40-man calls over the coming weeks.
The White Sox still have two open spots on their 40-man reserve roster in which to add a current free agent CF or one who might be waived by another club in the near future. Non-roster invitees such as CF Peter Bourjos and C Geovany Soto are also expected to be added to their 25-man active roster in time for opening day which would, of course, necessitate them being on the clubs 40-man list as well. A trade is another possibility, including a revisit of the stalled David Robertson discussions with the Nationals that may have involved C Pedro Severino and CF Michael Taylor. Decisions, decisions….
Thoughts and prayers
I say sign Coco Crisp to a 1 year deal and depending on how he plays he could play CF this whole season and let Tilson develop more
Replace an injury prone player with another injury prone player? IMO Tilson will not develop, unless you mean he will develop another weird injury that sidelines him for 30-60 days.
There was nothing “weird” about Charlie Tilson’s injury last season. He tore his left hamstring while attempting a diving catch in the 5th inning of his MLB debut, just days after being acquired from the Cardinals on the eve of the non-waiver trade deadline. The stress reaction he suffered in his right foot at the onset of spring training may very well have resulted from compensating for his injury last season.
The other injury Tilson suffered occurred in 2013 as a member of the Cardinal organization when he broke his left ankle during a minor league contest.
Just role w/ the next man up. The Sox aren’t trying to fool anybody, the are actively trying to trade every veteran asset and lose as many games possible. Though unfortunate, this will aid the losing.
Wwas the last time people saw a guy get two fluky injuries like this and have an all star (or even above average) career?
IMO the Sox should assume this guy will never be anything more than an injury waiting to happen and move on. The good news is it is not like they gave up a lot for him.
Constant injuries to the legs of a guy that relies on them is never a good thing. Saw too much of this type of stuff with Podsednik after ’05.. Always hurting and never performing, and the Sox just could not admit it to themselves in 06. Learn from your mistakes. If the org wants him to be a filler for a spot in AAA, that is fine, but I doubt he will be much more than that.. At least before the next fluky injury to him sidelines him for another couple of months.
This guy may be good for a bench spot but I would not be relying on him to be the starting CF for years to come.
Enough already with the “fluky” injury crap. Tilson suffered a broken ankle in 2013 while playing in a minor league game for the Cardinals. He tore his hamstring last season 5 innings into his MLB debut with the White Sox diving for a ball off the bat of Miguel Cabrera. The stress reaction he suffered earlier this spring was likely caused by over-compensating for his hamstring injury last season during his rehab.
The White Sox took every precaution by shutting down Tilson earlier in camp when the stress reaction was diagnosed, before it could result in an actual stress fracture. For whatever reason, the initial 10-day rest period and return to activity failed to neutralize or dissipate the trauma as hoped. He will now be given a more extended amount of rest in an attempt to heal the injury.
Three weeks isn’t too bad. He’ll be back just after the season starts. It’s not how he wanted to start his MLB career, but I don’t think there’s any real cause for concern yet. He’ll be ok.
platoon bourjos & may. DL Tilson. get Engel ABs in AAA. don’t try to make this difficult
That would be the simplest approach but it would be foolish to not consider the possibility of trades having a potential impact here, especially with the White Sox in a clear rebuild mode and so many of their veteran assets still on the roster. The front office certainly wouldn’t want to force a deal to help solve their current CF dilemma but it’s not like any of their present options, including Charlie Tilson, are guaranteed to be among their core group come 2019 or beyond.
The White Sox best bet to ultimately fill the position might very well be 20-year old Luis Alexander Basabe, who is currently their #8 prospect and came into the organization from Boston in the Chris Sale trade. But he is still very raw and has a hit tool that may never play at the MLB level as a starter in CF. His overall tools give him a floor as a fourth outfielder but he has the potential to be a star if he could hit.
“if he could hit”…words that have been used to describe what would make most of the White Sox players good for years now.
My concluding sentence was actually re-phrased from MLB.com’s analysis of Basabe in their scouting profile of him. He was also signed by the Red Sox as an international free agent, an organization that has a better recent track record of identifying amateur talent than the White Sox.
Among the four prospects acquired in the Sale trade, SB Nation graded Basabe out as a “C+” prospect following the trade, slightly better than the mark given to P Victor Diaz, but much lower than the “A” grade given to 2B Yoan Moncada and P Michael Kopech.
How about a 4 WAR GG centerfielder plus an MLB top 100 pitcher for JQ. Talking about Ender Inciarte (cheap and controllable for 5 years) plus Matt Wisler (former MLB #34 prospect) for Jose Quintana.
Not nearly enough of a return for Jose Quintana. If the White Sox were interested in a younger MLB outfielder with 5 years of “cheap” control they would have just kept Adam Eaton rather than trade him to the Nationals. The White Sox preference would be trading “Q” for multiple elite level prospects as they did with Chris Sale and Eaton. Quintana ought to garner a return somewhere in between of what they received for those two players.
I’ve always found the 4th OF tag interesting. To be a 4th OF a guy has had to display some offensive skill in the minors, and he has to show something in the majors as well…..unless he’s a burner.
A true 4th outfielder ought to be able to handle all three positions defensively as opposed to a platoon candidate who would just play one or two, typically a corner spot.
Dudes made of glass